An attorney representing the parents of an Arlington teen who claimed that a police officer "body slammed" her to the ground when a private party got out of hand, said he will move forward with plans to sue the officer and the city.
Geoff Henley, who is representing Julie and Kirk Perry and their 15-year-old daughter, said, "We will definitely file suit against officer Dylan Eckstrom in the days or weeks to come."On Friday, state District Judge Tom Lowe denied Henley's motion to take depositions from unnamed police officers and other witnesses to the incident, which took place during a melee Aug. 8 at 1010 Collins St., an entertainment center. A 33-second cellphone video shows the officer taking down the girl, but not what happened beforehand.According to court documents, Eckstrom forced the girl to the ground where she sustained cuts and scrapes to her face. The documents stated that the girl was also pepper sprayed, and that Eckstrom told the girl he had to give her a ticket to explain to his bosses why he used the pepper spray.The girl was arrested on suspicion of fighting in public and pleaded not guilty.In his response to Henley's motion, Assistant City Attorney Robert Fugate argued that the city of Arlington and its employees are immune from lawsuits and that rules prohibit seeking depositions for unnamed or unidentified people and that they must be served in advance and named."Petitioners attempt to game the system by hitting an end run around the immunity protections for government officials and entities. In state courts, governmental officials and entities are also entitled to special procedures to eliminate harassing lawsuits," Fugate wrote.Elizabeth Campbell,817-390-7696Twitter: @fwstlizHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
